FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN

40 rescued from human trafficking operations

Children taken to work in illegal gold mines

A coordinated crackdown by authorities in eight African nations has rescued about 40 people who were being smuggled or trafficked, says a new report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Many of the rescued were minors who were being forcibly transported to work in the illegal gold mines in Guinea, authorities said this week.

The operation, focusing on border controls in West Africa, was carried out by Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

Some of the victims had paid smugglers to get them to Europe through Libya.

Authorities at the international INTERPOL group said in a report that the eight-day Operation Adwenpa III, Oct. 5-12, involved more than 100 officers at 23 sites across key land border and airports in eight countries.

Authorities said that in addition to the human trafficking operations, about 650 pounds of counterfeit pharmaceutical products were discovered at the Abidjan airport. That led to the discovery of a house being used as a warehouse and packaging site for other fake medicines.